LARC Ranch has begun trucking in water and has spent nearly $10,000 so far in an effort to shore up water supplies that have been left dangerously low by the ongoing drought as well as governmental gridlock that has prevented the release of normal water flows from Bouquet Reservoir.

“We first started ordering water when we had a mechanical pumping issue that was related to an apparent incident of vandalism, but not we’ve come to conclude that the underground water supplies have been drawn down so low that we needed to truck in several hundred thousand gallons of water,” said LARC Executive Director Kathleen Sturkey.

LARC Ranch provides residential and day programs for more than 100 developmentally disabled adults on its Bouquet Canyon property.

The apparent vandalism occurred when someone, possibly trying to steal copper wiring, disabled a telemetry unit that automatically starts LARC’s well water pumps when the water in the storage tank reaches a particular level.

However, even after the telemetry unit was repaired, the pumps have been unable to draw sufficient water from the wells.

“We rely on that water supply not only for the daily use of our residents and staff, but also for fire protection,” Sturkey said. “It’s a significant issues of both health and safety for more than 100 people here on the ranch, plus all of our neighbors in Bouquet Canyon.”

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency on Feb. 25 to help expedite a resolution to the crisis. At issue is the cleanup of debris left over from storms in 2005 that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power says prevents it from honoring a contractual obligation to release water from the Bouquet Reservoir, which is supposed to replenish Bouquet Creek and the underground wells that serve LARC and other properties.

With the debris clogging the creek, a normal release of water would flood Bouquet Canyon Road and create an unsafe condition, officials say.

Sturkey said county Supervisor Michael Antonovich and his staff have been very helpful, but there’s still no sign of action by the U.S. Forest Service to get the debris removed.

“We really need them to get the cleanup moving,” Sturkey said. “It’s cost us $9,400 so far to have water trucked in, and that’s obviously not an acceptable long-term solution.”

About LARC Ranch: The nonprofit LARC Ranch (Los Angeles Residential Community), established in Bouquet Canyon in 1959, strives to help developmentally disabled adults thrive. LARC provides homes, recreation, social activities, physical fitness, day training workplace training and more. Additional information about LARC is available at www.larcfoundation.org.